Toronto-based Bank of Nova Scotia has named Rajagopal (Raj) Viswanathan as executive vice president and chief financial officer (CFO), effective Nov. 1, the bank announced Tuesday.
He succeeds Sean McGuckin, who announced in May that he would take a leave of absence to attend to an illness in his family. Sean will retire as CFO on Oct. 31, though he will support the bank during a transition period until Dec. 31.
“Sean has had a long and distinguished career at Scotiabank for over 27 years, holding senior roles in global risk management and finance, as well as audit,” says Brian Porter, president and CEO, Scotiabank, in a statement. “I want to thank him for his many contributions to the bank and wish him and his family well.”
Viswanathan was appointed to the role of acting CFO in June. As executive vice president and CFO, he will oversee the finance department, including investor relations, taxation, economics and strategic transactions functions at the bank, as well as the structural cost transformation project.
“Raj’s wide-ranging financial experience and his proven track record of delivering results have positioned him well to carry out this critical role on our executive leadership team,” Porter says.
Viswanathan joined Scotiabank in 2002 and has held progressively senior positions in internal audit and finance since that time. In 2014,he was appointed senior vice president and chief accountant. He also led the bank’s multi-year finance transformation project.